Leland Lazarus

1946 Society Member DeDe Long honored Leland at the October 2024 1946 Society Luncheon with the following text:

It is my honor to celebrate a 1946 Society member whose boundless energy, vision, and commitment to the Fulbright mission have left an indelible mark on our community—Leland Lazarus. 

Leland joined the Fulbright Association Board in 2021 during my tenure as Board Chair. Since his first year of board service, he has propelled the Association’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts with passion and purpose, ensuring that Senator Fulbright’s legacy reflects the diversity that makes this world so vibrant. 

Most recently, Leland’s vision of inclusion has guided his co-leadership of Friday’s 2024 Youth Summit. This year’s Youth Summit is modeled on the 2023 Youth Summit in Denver, Colorado, founded by Leland and fellow board member Wen-Kuni Céant. The program serves as a vehicle to engage both exchange program alumni and local high school students, harnessing alumni expertise to inspire a new and diverse generation of Fulbrighters and global leaders. 

In addition to his programmatic contributions, Leland is one of the Board of Directors’ most prolific fundraisers, securing programmatic partnerships and support from universities, foundations, corporations, and individuals, while serving as an advocate for both the Association and the future of the Fulbright Program. 

Leland shared, “Whether you’re a professional overseas, or you’re a Fulbrighter, or you’re born overseas—you become a cultural ambassador for the U.S. You are a physical manifestation of the wonderful diversity that this country has to offer. Why not be a part of that?” 

Leland embodies this philosophy of leadership as an American, a Fulbrighter, and a 1946 Society member. The 1946 Society is proud of his leadership, his spirit of inclusion, and his expansion of Fulbright Association programming and its community of supporters. Please join me in congratulating Leland Lazarus as the 1946 Society Member of the Year. 

Leland’s Biography

Leland Lazarus, a Fulbright alumnus to Panama, serves as Secretary and Chair of the Programs Committee on the Fulbright Association’s national Board of Directors. He is currently the Associate Director of National Security at Florida International University’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy. 

From 2021 to 2022, Lazarus served as the Special Assistant and Speechwriter to the Commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). From 2016 to 2021, Lazarus was a U.S. State Department Foreign Service Officer, serving as Deputy Public Affairs Officer at U.S. Embassy Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean; Consular Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Shenyang, China; and Pickering Fellow at U.S. Embassy Beijing and the China Desk in Washington, D.C. 

Throughout his career, Leland has received awards such as the Joint Civilian Service Commendation Award from the U.S. Department of Defense and the Distinguished Honor Award from the State Department. He is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Nonresident Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub. Fluent in both Mandarin and Spanish, Leland holds an M.A. in U.S.-China Foreign Policy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a B.A. in International Relations from Brown University.